Category: Get-away Properties

Our friend HughE over at PhillyChitChat tells us that Richard Gere is coming to live in the Greater Philadelphia area to film the movie Fanny, and that he’s likely to rent “in the suburbs” because that’s where the majority of the movie will be filmed. “The suburbs,” you’ll admit, is a rather large chunk of [...]

Is it the giant ursine figure looming over the living room? The six deer heads on the wood-paneled wall? The rifle as decorative touch in the homey country dining room? The mopey moose above the fireplace? Are these listings photos doing this property a disservice? We wonder.

Because aside from the dead things, this house is pretty perfect as a Poconos get-away. It has all the classic lodge hallmarks: a two-story stone fireplace; plenty of wood detailing inside, including floors and cabinets and walls and molding; exterior wood shingles; 100 acres of land; and a plethora of square footage, with the added bonus of a two-bedroom apartment above a three-car heated garage. You can smell the wood smoke and hear the snap of twigs beneath your feet from here.

Okay, we’re fairly certain that even those who didn’t make the list of Budget Travel Magazine’s Most Awesome Boardwalks have not reached a pit of despair so deep that they’ve been reduced to pursuing drug addiction. But these debates can get passionate, that’s for sure, when the stakes are high.

Everyone at the Jersey Shore is looking for tourism this summer, worried that Sandy, or national perceptions of Sandy, will keep people away. Budget Travel included area boardwalks at Atlantic City, Point Pleasant, Wildwood and Rehoboth–but did not mention Ocean City, NJ, which does, indeed, seem odd. But Ocean City, Maryland, got a strong mention, and perhaps the writers felt it would be too clunky to have two Ocean Cities on the list (far-fetched, we realize).

This is New Hope’s most expensive property by more than $40 million, but the new owner is getting far more than land. The entire business of the farm–an established breeding and racing facility with 175 horses–is for sale, including three other horse farms along with this one: two in Buckingham Township and one in Upper Makefield. Add it all up, and it’s more than 450 acres of land.

Fashion Farm inspired the magazine Fashion & Farm Country Magazine, which has now been embodied in a film called “Country” that was filmed at the New Hope location. For prospective buyers, it’s a fine way to learn more about the property.

Not enough people going to Atlantic City? Then the Atlantic City Alliance will bring AC to the people. The ”Live From AC” roadshow starts this weekend in Philly with a pop-up casino resort (15,000 lbs. and two stories) at the waterfront that includes “key AC experiences” all framed by the “DO AC” advertising campaign.

The Alliance is a nonprofit that markets the city to tourists, which has been an uphill battle in recent months. So the organization has partnered with BMF, a company that helps build brands with experiential marketing of this kind. This roadshow will also go to Baltimore and NYC.

In a statement, Atlantic City Alliance President Liza Cartmell said the goal of the roadshow is to ”introduce AC to people in a new way, create a social media buzz and represent all 12 casinos in key markets.” She said it’s an opportunity to engage “our target audience of fun seekers.” (Are there fun seekers in Philly? If so, where do they pass the time? Not on SEPTA, that’s for sure.)

In the wake of Ocean City’s ranking as No. 1 for vacation home buying, Cape May gets in on the action as the No. 1 shore destination for renters. The rankings were released by FlipKey, a TripAdvisor product that serves as a HomeAway-style portal for users who want to rent vacation homes.

However, as Jen Miller points out on the Philly Post, the results–derived from reservation requests made through FlipKey–are probably not as scientifically reliable as a study from Johns Hopkins, say.

Ocean City, NJ, got quite a bit of attention when it was recently ranked No. 1 on the list of The Most Popular Towns to Buy a Vacation Home. That ranking was determined by the online real-estate listings service Trulia, which based its results on the number of searches users made on its site for the months of March 2013 and April 2012. North Wildwood came in at No. 2, but Ocean City real estate had higher median home prices at $525,000.

Such popularity had tongues wagging about a possible home shortage and even a rental shortage. We were there this weekend and saw plenty of signs advertising rentals near the beach, and there are absolutely homes available–depending, of course, how much you’d like to spend.

So Tiger will not drown in some kind of Biblical flood after all, despite the most sophisticated meteorological forecasts that suggested he might. The game will go on, and for those who want to see the players as they proceed along this notoriously difficult course–especially holes 14 to 18–there may be some last-minute weekend rentals within a manageable price range.

Below are some rentals we’ve spotted on airbnb that would make some sense. They’re listed as available for this weekend, but of course, there’s no guarantee.

The most expensive recreational vehicle in the world is on sale for $2 million in–where else?–Dubai. From the Daily Mail (rogue capitalization of brand name obviously sic):

The space-age eleMMent Palazzo comes complete with a colossal master bedroom, 40-inch TV, on-board bar, fireplace and even its own rooftop terrace.

But the most impressive piece of luxury is the ‘Sky Lounge’ – at the press of a button the 40ft home transforms into a personal retreat with pop up cocktail bar, underfloor heating and extravagant marble lighting.